Country Life: Farmer Audrius Banionis and the village of Margininkai (VIDEO)

Farmers are the lifeblood of rural Lithuania, providing food for our towns and villages. Audrius Banionis, who grew up in the village of Margininkai and farms here, currently works around 700 hectares; on his farm, he milks 360 cows, producing 10 tonnes of milk a day. There are also pigs, poultry and a huge orchard. The farmer processes everything himself – he bakes bread, makes sausages, smoked meats, pâté, various other meat products and much, much more.

„I remember that even at the age of 3 or 4 I enjoyed being on the farm, and later, still as a child, I dreamed of becoming a vet in the future,“ – says A. Banionis, who did indeed go on to qualify as a vet.

Audrius started farming independently at the age of 28, when his mother gave him 6 hectares of land. “I bought a dilapidated farm with borrowed money, and that’s how my farming business began,” – says A. Banionis, who today provides work for over 100 people, and whose farm has expanded to cover an area almost as large as the village itself.

According to the latest census data (2021), only 126 residents are registered in the village of Margininkai.

Even at a very young age, A. Banionis shaped his worldview through prayer in the face of the hardship that his family faced at the time. “There was no shortage of food, but that hardship was felt (...) ‘God, I could work round the clock just so I wouldn’t be a pauper,’ – this is how the man recalls his childhood prayers. Through his hard work and determination, he has expanded his farm to such an extent that his produce is known throughout Lithuania, and the village of Margininkai truly has something to be proud of.

The “Agrobitė play” channel has prepared a nine-part series for you about the farmers without whom rural life would be unimaginable. They restore churches, bring communities together, provide jobs for people, and often take in the less fortunate.

These are documentary reports not about fleeting “TikTok” or “Instagram” posts, but about people who inspire us and fill the countryside with life.

Subscribe to the "Agrobitė play" channel to find out soon who these modern-day heroes are.

This documentary report was produced with partial funding from the Media Support Fund.